Utica Police Lt. Discusses Lewd Acts in the Park; Panhandlers Downtown

Utica Police Public Information Officer, Lt. Bryan Coromato, joins the Keeler in the Morning Show on WIBX to discuss the rise of panhandlers who can be seen daily at a few downtown intersections, and the recent arrests for 'lewd behavior' in city parks.

After receiving a number of complaints, Utica Police conducted an operation targeting men who apparently run naked through city parks and have been harassing park-and-trail-users in the city. Police say they were committing 'lewd' acts - you can fill in the rest.

Additionally, the topic of panhandling. Some think the cops should tell them to 'move it along', but can they?

Regarding some of those whom you may see asking for help, Coromato said in the case of at least a few, ''There are people that are out there now that we have talked to that we believe are not homeless. A lot of them are not from this area. We do believe that some of this is a 'scam'. There's obviously some people out there that are in need.''